Alta States

The Glen Plake Story

It seemed like a good idea at the time. It was
the fifth running of Words & Stories. And as usual, I wanted Whistler’s
annual mountain gab fest to be a good one. But how do you improve on such great
tale spinners at Jeff Holden and G.D. Maxwell and Ivan E. Coyote and Jim
McConkey and Ace McKay-Smith and Kinnie Starr? I needed a ringer. I wanted to
anchor this year’s show with somebody that would really light a fire under
people’s butts.

“Why don’t you invite Glen Plake,” suggested
my friend Jack Turner. One of the most creative people I know in the ski
business, Turner can always be counted on to come up with a great idea or two.
But this time, his idea was truly exceptional. I was hooked from the moment he
mentioned it.

It made sense. Plake had recently severed his
career-long relationship with K2 and was now working with Elan as one of its
principal ski ambassadors. As it turned out, Turner also had a couple of
friends in management there. “We can make this thing happen,” he told me in his
inimitable little-kid way. “We’ll make this year’s event a night to remember.”

And why not? Given his unique look and way-out
attitude, Plake might just very well be the most recognizable Snoweater on the
planet. And he loves to talk about skiing. Climber, adventurer, all-round fun
hog — and surely one of the greatest jesters and entertainers skiing has ever
seen — the Mohawked One has done more in his lifetime to promote snowplay and
sliding down mountains in wintertime than just about anybody I know. He’d be
perfect for Words & Stories.

Remember
Blizzard of Aaaah’s?
Or
License To Thrill
? Or even
A
Fistful of Moguls
? Remember just how revolutionary
those ski flicks seemed when they first came out? At a time when most people
thought skiing had totally lost its mojo (and in many respects, mainstream
skiing really did lose its way in the ’80s), here was this wild and crazy ski
character with a braying laugh and balls of steel. He was American through and
through — a working class hero who wore his skis long and his hair straight up.

But the kid sure could ski. Along with his
alter ego, Scot Schmidt, he came to redefine what American big-mountain skiing
and adventuring was all about. And he did it laughing all the way.